It is known in the art relating to dressings for indwelling catheter access sites to use self-adherent protective bandage tape or clear film product alternatives that use non-sensitizing hypoallergenic adhesives to cover all or part of the indwelling catheter access sites. Some dressings combine non-woven tape and absorbent gauze-like materials which have skin-mating surfaces of non-adherent film to reduce the effect of adhesive stripping caused by the dressing removal. The absorbency and bacterial barrier of the pad typically varies minimally from one manufacturer to another, but this type of dressing is least occlusive to moisture vapor.
One known dressing system includes an opaque pad for adhesive placement over an access site and an adhesive strip, for adhesive securement to the skin of a patient under a catheter tube as it emerges from underneath the pad, and between the skin and the pad along the edges of the pad in opposite directions from the tube exit location.
While providing a more sterile, reliable and uniform dressing for a vascular access site, the system does not allow the access site to be viewed without removal of the opaque pad and the underneath of the pad is open to contamination around the edges of the catheter tube emerging from the opaque pad and adjacent the opaque pad.
The need exists for a dermal wound window dressing for the protection of indwelling catheter access sites, which provides simultaneous absorbency of moisture, visualization of the skin/cannula exit point and mechanical securement of the indwelling catheter having a securement system for edge sealing around the indwelling catheter where the catheter tube extends from under the dressing.